By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
March 21, 2012

James Elementary students filed into class with an eager spirit. It wasn’t a typical school day – this was spring break.

James Elementary, along with several other Kansas City Public Schools, hosted a Spring Break Academy to help students prepare for the upcoming Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests.

From March 12-16, the school district’s spring break, James Elementary offered a shortened school day for third through sixth grades that attracted more than 50 percent of its student body.

Despite her parents making her attend, fifth grader Alyssia Murillo said she didn’t mind.

“I thought it was fun because we got to learn a lot. Plus, Mr. Cook (her teacher for Spring Break Academy) was really fun. He made math fun.”

The idea for the Spring Break Academy originated earlier this year when Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen Green challenged schools during a principals meeting to offer Saturday school or a Spring Break Academy to raise MAP scores.

“He said, ‘We’re in it to win it,'” James Elementary Principal Jo Nemeth said.

Inspired by Green’s challenge, Nemeth organized a Spring Break Academy for James and rounded up five teachers, including three from James, to lead the academy. Subjects covered included communication arts, math and strategies for managing time and answering questions on the test. Teachers also emphasized the importance of MAP testing and why each student should try his or her best.

Through PLATO Learning, an online educational tool, students participated in interactive lessons and the program tracked the progress of each student.

Teachers could then use the data to cater their lessons for areas where students were struggling.

“I could really shift the focus where the kids needed it,” said Chase Cook, ninth through 12th grade special education teacher at Central High School.

“It’s gone really well,” James Elementary sixth grade teacher Bryan Hart said of the academy. “The kids are really into it.”

To further motivate his students, Hart explained that MAP testing is a “chance for us to excel and prove what we learned. It’s a chance for us to shine.”

Cook told his students they deserve to achieve, to attend college and receive scholarships just like the students in the suburbs. He also explained how MAP testing plays a role in gaining acceptance to magnet schools like Lincoln Prep.

A new fifth grader at James, Patrick Marroqvin said he wanted to attend the academy because, “I thought it would be fun.”

“There’s new people to meet every day and all the schools I went to before we never had (something like) this,” Marroqvin said.

Before Marroqvin attended the spring break school, he was simply “okay” at fractions, he said.

And now?

“I think I’m better at it,” he said.

As fifth grader Haley Garcia recapped her week, she couldn’t stop talking about her teacher, Mr. Cook.

“He’s an awesome teacher,” Garcia said. “He lets us play games in math. He makes math fun.”

Asked if she thinks the Spring Break Academy will help improve MAP test scores, Nemeth said, “That’s our sincere hope and I think it will help us get a step above where we’ve fallen down before.

“I think we’re going to shine as much as we can, and this is just one more way to help.”